9 July 2020

Keeping it Green!

As we keep coming out of this post lockdown era, we used this paused moment in time to see what positive changes can be made for tennis and the planet!

We rounded up some of the best things you can do to help reduce your carbon footprint in tennis and keep our sport green!

 

QUICK WIMBLEDON GREEN FACTS - Did you know?

  • 95% of Wimbledon waste is diverted from landfill with a whopping 95% of their used water recycled in the local water plant!
  • The introduction of a simple two-streamed waste bin system at the All-England Club Championships has seen waste recycling rise to 53% of all waste
  • Wimbledon’s famous strawberries and cream are locally sourced from within a 100 miles, nearly all of the strawberries coming from Kent having been picked at 5.30 that morning, that's dedication for the perfect strawberry!

Amazing! But what can you do as a player in Local Tennis Leagues? Well from our research, quite a lot!

 

TENNIS RACQUETS

 

1. Rent, don’t buy.

Many clubs have rent-a-racquets, which are perfect if you’re only planning to play in one round a year etc. Take a minimalist approach and don’t contribute to the supply and demand cycle. If you do choose to own your own racquet (no judgment as we certainly do!) remember you may not need to purchase a backup racquet if your courts have a rental program.

2. Buy Used Racquets.

Most of us are casual players and not about to pull a Federer anytime soon. The composite of materials in modern tennis racquets make them very challenging to recycle. Buying a used racquet will not only save you some cash, it will help give a tried-and-true racquet a new life despite minor scratches. While Second Hand Racquets have an excellent range of options, don’t shy away from eBay, either, especially if you already know what you’re looking for.

3. Recycle Your Broken Racquets (and Sporting Equipment).

If you're an avid tennis player and environmentalist, you may want to look into a TerraCycle zero waste athletic box. This program, though pricey, allows users to purchase zero waste boxes for broken sporting equipment, including tennis racquets, grips, and strings.
 

TENNIS BALLS

This is a difficult one for us because we sell and deliver balls to you guys as part of our business, and we love them! But we are also advocates for sustainability and so if we can find more use for the balls once we're done with them then let's do it! Here's some quick stats on the little furry things though...

  • 360,000,000 tennis balls are produced each year

  • 22 million are recycled

  • Most balls are only used a handful of times before being discarded

4. Breathe new life into tired tennis balls. 

We've actually spoken about this in a previous blog post but for those who missed it, there is PressureBall - it works by putting balls back under pressure. The aim is to prolong the life of new balls and also revive old balls. So not only do you save money on balls, you save on packaging and don't put more plastic back into the system.

5. Recycle your tennis balls.

Broken, busted, or filthy balls can be recycled into rubber composite products like tennis court mats, stucco-like product, and playgrounds. If you also have decent used balls which look too good then Recyclaball is another great option, regularly giving donations to various charities too! There's also the cute Recyle Tennis Balls charity which sends your balls (per 100) to dog rescue homes, which takes us to our next point below...

6. Donate or upcycle your flat tennis balls.

Don’t have the patience to store tennis balls until they’re worth sending? Consider upcycling them into dog toys or simply drop them at your local animal shelter on your way home - but encourage the shelter to join a recycling program as well.

 

Exciting news: Old tennis balls are now providing new habitat for the endangered European harvest mouse. Read about it here. 

 

TENNIS CLOTHES

 

7. Buy pre-owned tennis clothes. 

An estimated £140 million worth (around 350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year.

Some of us are pretty relaxed with our tennis style but for others it is key! Buying quality pre-owned clothing is icing on the cake. Keep your sporty clothes out of the landfill and go vintage via Etsy who sell classic Nike gear as well as other big brands, and don't dismiss eBay either. This is another area where going green can save you green!
 

8. Buy athletic clothing made from recycled or sustainable materials.

This is where we love our tennis favorites, Adidas and Nike. Adidas has announced it will use only recycled plastics in its products, warehouses, retail stores, and offices by 2024. Nike Grind is a program that converts recycled materials into new athletic shoes and clothing, and today 71% of Nike products use Nike Grind materials.

Taking it a step further and looking for organic bamboo activewear? Boody is one of many brands to consider. Recycled synthetics and plastic bottles? For the women reading this, check out the Girlfriend Collective who are dominating the sport clothing industry right now. For the men, Sundried have excellent options for better clothing. 

 

Girlfriend Collective

 

TENNIS SHOES

 

9. Buy sustainable.

More and more awesome eco-friendly athletic shoe options are arriving on the market. Reebok unveiled their corn and cotton shoes (not biodegradable, but a compostable shoe is allegedly in the works). Adidas' Parley shoes utilize yarn made from recycled plastic waste removed from beaches and coastal communities and contain a chip you can scan with your phone to follow the story of their shoes from bottle to final product. Finally, Nike Grind uses old shoes to make new ones and their Flyknit technology produces 60% less waste than traditional construction methods, reducing nearly 3.5 million pounds of waste since 2012. 

10. Donate. 

Support local charities or larger organisations by donating your old trainers, from a quick search we found a few which all help various causes such as Re-Sole and A Mile In Her Shoes. If in doubt, there is always Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe programme which will take in any branded trainer and staggeringly have processed 33 million pairs of shoes to date!